WGN-AM gives Laski 'Sports Central' slot

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: WGN-AM 720 confirmed today it is dropping "Sports Central," its 28-year-old sports-talk show, and redeploying longtime host David Kaplan (pictured right) as its "sports insider," a role that will include serving as primary host of an expanded "Cubs 10th Inning" postgame show. : Effective April 12, the 7-to-9 p.m. weeknight slot will be turned over to Jim Laski for a topical talk show when there isn't a Chicago Cubs, Chicago Blackhawks or Northwestern basketball game airing on WGN, the Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co. radio station. : Laski, who's been on WGN part-time since June, is a little more than two years removed from federal prison, where he was sent for accepting nearly $50,000 in bribes while Chicago's city clerk. : : Kevin Metheny, WGN-AM's program director, called Laski "a fascinating character" with "a unique insider’s perspective" who has "paid for his crime, is sincerely contrite and is moving on." : How much airtime Laski actually will get is uncertain. WGN management calculates that because of game broadcasts and other commitments, "Sports Central" was preempted about 53 percent of the time weeknights last year. Of the 47 percent of the time that the program did air, the station said around two dozen of the shows ran 30 minutes or less. : That and the emergence of two full-time Chicago sports stations -- CBS Radio's WSCR-AM 670 and ESPN's WMVP-AM 1000 -- to siphon off much of what was the WGN gabfest's audience over the last decade and a half contributed to the decision to retire the "Sports Central," which launched in the spring of 1982. : "I’ve been lucky enough to talk sports in this town for the past 20 years," said Kaplan, who had been with WGN and "Sports Central" since 1995. "I look forward to continuing to talk sports, which is my passion." : Metheny said Kaplan's "sports insider" job comes with an "intense focus on the Cubs beat," the team's broadcasts long established as a centerpiece for listeners and station revenue. : “Kap is a tremendous talent who has the special gift of being able to connect on the deepest of levels with members of the sports community," Tom Langmyer, WGN-AM's vice president and general manager, said. "This role takes him beyond just taking calls, and instead, he brings our listeners behind the scenes.” : Besides his postgame responsibilities, Kaplan will host a new weekend show, "Cubs Insider"; a pregame feature for all home-game broadcasts called "Cubs Underground" and an interview segment that will air through the week called "60 Seconds With ..." : Kaplan will continue to do WGN afternoon sports reports, appear on others WGN shows as warranted and contribute occasional "Cubs Confidential" specials for the station. He also still will host "Chicago Tribune Live" on cable's Comcast SportsNet Chicago and co-write the Chicago Tribune's "Around Town" sports column with Fred Mitchell. : "Chicago Cubs play-by-play broadcasts are beachfront property and a powerful audience magnet," Metheny said. "It’s logical to extend Cubs postgame broadcasts and serve more Cubs fans, more often." : Kaplan previously was a host for WMVP-AM, coached basketball for Northern Illinois University and scouted for the National Basketball Association's Indiana Pacers and the Seattle Supersonics. : Laski, according to a 2006 Chicago Tribune editorial, rose from a mere "gofer in the 23rd Ward political organization of former U.S. Rep. William O. Lipinski" through the City Council until eventually elected city clerk in 1995. He was twice reelected, "despite spats with Mayor Richard Daley and a break with Lipinski." : Some saw Laski as a potential candidate for state treasurer until the feds swooped in. He admitted taking bribes to steer city business to trucking companies run by his friends in the Hired Truck scandal, a crime that U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle said ensured that "honorable guys who have companies and want to do business with the city are the losers." : Laski said he is "moving on" with his life and "excited" about the opportunity to deliver "a no-holds-barred, tell-it-like-I-see-it show."

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